BATON ROUGE — On Thursday, Oct. 30th, a Grand Jury indicted the man accused in an “intentional, targeted” crash in June 2025 that killed Baton Rouge Police Sgt. Caleb Eisworth.
Gad Black is charged with first-degree murder of Sgt. Eisworth. Results of Black’s sanity hearing are still pending.
In August, after Sgt. Eisworth died of his injuries, East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore confirmed his office was looking to upgrade charges against Black.
MORE: BRPD’s Sgt. Caleb Eisworth dies from injuries in “intentional, targeted” June crash
Moore told UWK then that charges against Gad Black would be upgraded to first-degree murder. According to the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, Black followed Eisworth on June 16 near Prescott and Joor Roads before “striking him with his truck and fleeing the area.”
Black was originally charged with attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, hate crimes and resisting an officer.
“Caleb has fought a hard fight”
Black and his girlfriend, Asia Raby, 40, were arrested hours after the crash, which left Eisworth critically injured.
On August 10, Eisworth, a 23-year BRPD veteran, died nearly two months after the crash. Despite undergoing weeks of surgeries, including the amputation of both legs above the knee in July, he never fully recovered from his injuries.
MORE: Doctors amputate both of BRPD Sgt. Eisworth’s legs
“Caleb has fought a hard fight after being violently run down while performing his duties,” Baton Rouge police said in a statement. “For 49 days, Caleb fought hard, having many good days as he recovered from the numerous injuries. Unfortunately, his injuries proved to be too severe and his body was unable to continue fighting. We are comforted in knowing that Caleb was able to ask for and see his daughter and spend time with his friends and family during his final weeks.”
DA: Death penalty on the table
Moore says he plans to meet with Eisworth’s family to discuss whether to seek the death penalty. Black remains in custody pending the results of a sanity hearing, with bond denied. Moore says those findings will be critical in determining how the case proceeds.
“He is clearly a danger to the community and a threat to public safety, especially law enforcement officers. Being held without bond is appropriate,” said Moore said in June following the incident.
MORE: Family of man accused of targeting BRPD officer releases statement
Black’s June arrest
During questioning following his arrest in June, court documents say Black “alluded to his deep-rooted hatred for law enforcement personnel.” He’s said to have admitted to officials during his post-Miranda interview that he followed the officer prior to the crash.
During their investigation, deputies also found disturbing posts on Black’s Facebook page. There’s a post to Black’s reported Facebook account shortly after the crash on June 16, “Check Him Out on Joor Rd. Stretched One.” Another post was “directly referencing an incident that occurred in May 2025, in the State of Ohio, where a law enforcement officer was intentionally struck and killed by a vehicle,” read the arrest warrant.
Deputies also reviewed a 911 call and pieced together that Black’s girlfriend allegedly aided in by removing the truck in question from the scene and hiding it out. The truck was found at a different location with moderate damage to the front bumper and undercarriage. She is now charged with accessories after the fact for attempted first-degree murder of a police officer and obstruction of justice by tampering with evidence.
2014: Black arrested in similar incident
UWK first reported in June that Black had been arrested for similar charges more than a decade ago. On July 5, 2014, he was arrested for a series of offenses, including aggravated assault with a vehicle on a police officer, according to court records.
During that incident, police said Black was driving erratically on Plank Road with his 9-year-old son in the front seat, “swerved into oncoming traffic,” and “drove approximately six blocks against the flow of traffic” while running red lights. He allegedly hung out of the driver’s side window to flip off a police helicopter overhead before swerving across two lanes “in an attempt to strike two other marked police units.” He was also accused of hitting a truck with four people inside while trying to escape.
Police deployed spike strips to stop Black in Baker. When he refused to comply, officers released a trained K9, which Black allegedly punched repeatedly in the head. As officers tried to restrain him, police say he punched one officer in the face and continued resisting before being handcuffed.
Plea deal reached
Current Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse was the arresting officer in that case.
Police say Black’s son was found “curled up in a fetal position on the front passenger seat, visibly shaken, scared, and suffering.” Black’s bond was set at $43,500, and his charges were later reduced to aggravated flight from an officer. The state dismissed the remaining charges.
He ultimately pleaded guilty in a deal that resulted in a three-year sentence, most of it suspended, and was placed on three years of supervised probation with multiple conditions.
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